That phrase seems to really be taking Christendom by storm in the past several years. People are once again longing to serve, to demonstrate they are the "hands and feet" of Jesus. And it sounds like a great way to live into that desire.
Fortunately, when the good people of Hillsong took this line and put it into a song, they understood that "break my heart for what breaks Your's" isn't simply something we fall into. It is a destination that takes hard work and lots of effort on our part to realize.
Look at the progression outlined in "Hosanna" by Hillsong:
Heal my heart and make it clean.
Open up my eyes to the things unseen.
Show me how to love like you have loved me.
Break my heart for what is Your's.
Everything I am for your Kingdom's cause.
As I walk from Earth into eternity.
Can you see the progression? It is as simple as taking those first four lines of the bridge and assigning numbers to them; steps to achieving the "heart of God" if you will.
First, you have to allow God to heal your heart; make it clean. If you continue to harbor all of the treasures of the world, all of the trappings of this kingdom in your heart, there is no way you will ever truly have a broken heart for the things of God. Jesus said it best:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21-NIV)When we guard our heart, seeking the things of God, He is able to heal us. That is the first step in getting us to a place where our heart breaks for the things of God.
Next, we must allow God to open our eyes to the things unseen. Again, God shows us:
“The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:17-NIV)
God sees the world much differently than we do. Only when our hearts are filled with His desires can we begin to see things more in line with his economy.
Our third step is for God to "show me how to love like you have loved me". I'll be honest, this is probably the hardest step in the transition. Love isn't easy. Just look at the divorce rate, look at how many children are abandoned by their fathers and sometimes mothers, look at how many people die alone. Love is messy!
And until we are willing to get just as messy, to open our own hearts to all kinds of potential for pain, sorrow, and ugliness; we won't be able to love like Jesus. He loved us so much, he suffered and died for our sins, despite the fact that we had already rejected him! He loved us so much, he allowed his own father to turn his back on him for a time so he could pay our price.
Are you willing to that? Could you do that? I couldn't.
So after we've allowed God to clean our hearts, after we've begun to see things through a new perspective, a holy perspective, after we've learned to love like Jesus, only then can we truly allow our hearts to break for the things that break God's.
It is a journey, one many of us will pursue, but very few reach this side of eternity. I simply hope that each day I am drawing closer, as opposed to moving farther away.
